How to keep your salon safe to avoid slips and trips
As a salon owner, health & safety should be a top priority and it’s vital that you keep your premises as safe and secure as possible to protect your clients and your staff. It’s certainly better to prevent accidents occurring in the first place including slips, trips and falls, than to have your customers and employees suffer any potential consequences such as bruising, sprains, muscle pulls or tears, broken bones or worse. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) claims that slips and trips remain the single most common cause of major injury in the UK and with claims for resulting injuries on the increase, here are some handy tips to keep everybody safe in your hair or beauty salon and to minimise the risk of accidents from happening on your premises.
Slips and trips are preventable, and many injuries can be averted if owners and their staff are aware of potential hazards and remain vigilant at all times. It is ultimately your responsibility as the salon owner to keep your premises safe and there are several key areas that need to be checked on a regular basis. Good housekeeping should become second nature to you and your staff, so that the causes of trips and slips can be eliminated.
Floors are areas where potential risks and dangers lie and so should be cleaned frequently. There should be regular visual inspections of the floor to ensure that they are free from hair, nail clippings and product residues that could make floors slippery. All cut hair should be swept up regularly and any water or spilled products should be cleaned up immediately. Spilled liquids are a frequent cause of slips and in a salon, there are many contenders such as; shampoo, soap, lotions, creams, chemicals and of course water. Ensure that you or members of your team are on the look-out for these and any possible floor conditions that could result in a slip or a trip.
Typical slip or trip hazards in the salon include wet or polished floors, liquid spills, worn or frayed carpets and uneven flooring. There are always new products arriving at the salon and packaging and boxes can become a problem, so it’s important that objects such as these do not block walkways, steps and stairs and keep workstations clear of client handbags and clothing.
Hairdryers, curling tongs, straighteners, wax containers and other electrical equipment can be found in abundance in a salon and this is a real area for concern. Ensure that there are an adequate number of sockets in your salon to reduce the length of trailing cables and that all equipment is unplugged when not in use with cables securely wrapped around appliances. If at all possible, reroute cables overhead and do make sure that your employees wear appropriate non-slip footwear that is designed for the work activities they are carrying out.
As a salon owner, you and your staff should routinely check for hazards. Make sure that you install non-slip flooring and carpeting and clean up any spills immediately as well as dropped items and clutter. All cables and leads from electrical equipment should be securely fastened with all equipment unplugged when not in use. If your salon has stairs, provide handrails and use high traction treads and most importantly install good and bright lighting, so that clients and staff can see clearly, and faulty bulbs should be replaced quickly.
Keeping your employees and customers safe from trips and falls may avoid any potentially expensive legal action and will ultimately be good for business. If you are looking for protection for your salon, you should consider taking out public liability cover and employers’ liability insurance. The Retail Mutual can help protect you, and your independent salon. To find out more call 0333 2121 277 or visit www.theretailmutual.com/salons
